The Rancher's Redemption

Chapter Eight

He’d kissed Lizzie Taylor. Adam let out a breath and tried to focus on the accounts his father had given him earlier to transcribe the records online. He’d kissed her more than once, and not in just a friendly way, but in a deep and personal way that had made him rock hard and ready for more. The shock of that had sent him running down the stairs like a speeding bronco.

He’d made no attempt to explain himself, and five days later he still didn’t know what he was going to say when he did. I kissed you because I didn’t feel like I had any other choice? I kissed you because I had one of the best days of my life since Louisa died? Both of those reasons were totally about him and Lizzie probably wouldn’t appreciate either of them.

He glanced down at his cell. She hadn’t contacted him either. Maybe that was a clear message of its own....

“Adam?” Daisy came in and sat on the corner of the desk. “Are you going to pick Leanne up from the airport? Dad’s saying he’s going to do it.”

“He can if he wants.” Adam shrugged. “He might stand a better chance of recognizing her than I will.”

“But he’s a terrible driver, and he’s never been to the airport before. If he and Leanne get into a fight on the way back, he might drive himself off the road while he’s arguing with her.”

“You have a point.” Adam considered her comment. “Maybe I’ll offer to go.”

“Would you?” Daisy smiled at him. “I don’t particularly want her to come here, but I don’t want Dad driving them both off a cliff, either.”

“Fair enough. Are you off to work?”

“Yes, and then I’m having dinner with Jackson in town.”

“Cool.” Adam squinted at their dad’s terrible handwriting. “I’ll probably still be here when you get back, trying to make sense of these figures. I wish Dad would get into the age of technology.”

“I bought him a tablet and installed all the software he needed to link directly to the farm account online,” Daisy said. “I can’t do much more than that.” She picked up a stray pen and put it back in the pot. “Maybe you should take a break and come and have dinner with me and Jackson. You could ask Lizzie to join us.”

Adam sat back in his chair and looked up at his diminutive sister. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Fishing. Lizzie and I are just friends.”

She sighed. “When she and Roman came out here you looked so . . . happy. We all noticed it—even Dad.”

“It was a nice thing to do for the kid.” Adam crossed his arms and sat back until the chair creaked. “He doesn’t get to run around much in an apartment in town.”

“It was a nice thing,” she agreed. “But I saw the way you looked at Lizzie.”

“Daisy.” Adam met her gaze. “Lizzie and I were really good friends at school. I deliberately ended that friendship after Louisa died, and I’m trying to get it back. Can we leave it at that?”

“You and I are quite alike,” Daisy said conversationally.

“Yeah, so what?”

“We’re both really stubborn, and we tend to hang on to things for way too long.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think you know.” She hesitated. “I was so hung up on my first love that I almost blew my chances of having a relationship with Jackson.”

“I’m not you, Daisy.” Adam paused. “And, I’m not trying to be rude here, but your brief college romance is hardly in the same league as my marriage, is it?”

Daisy rolled her eyes and slid off the desk. “There’s no need to get all defensive, bro. I’m just asking you to think before you rule something out entirely.”

“Thanks for the advice.” Adam returned his gaze to the screen of his laptop. “Now scoot.”

She was still laughing as she walked away. He was still unable to find the humor in anything she’d said. He was stubborn. Louisa had been the same way. Their short marriage had been full of stormy disagreements, and a fair amount of sulking, usually followed by joyous reconciliations, and mind-blowing sex. They’d been teenagers for most of it.